God

In this Godpod we welcome back Mike Lloyd and the usual team discuss: Why does God not make Himself more obvious? What do you do if you believe in God but can't bring yourself to believe in Jesus? And whether we become divine in the process of the christian life or not?

The one where Graham, Jane and guest conversation-partner Lincoln Harvey discuss what the 'image of God' means, whether Jesus would have died if he had not chosen to go to the cross, and how you know whether you are deceiving yourself when you try to read the Bible

Mike, Jane and Graham talk about why the New Testament writings are considered to be God’s Word and other early Christian writings of this time are not. They also discuss whether God forgives our sins against him or just against other people, and whether our imperfect memories are a result of our fallenness.

HTB leaders past and present gather together during the church’s unusually sunny annual week away to answer questions from the congregation. Graham is joined by current vicar Nicky Gumbel and associate vicar Archie Coates, as well as worship leader Tim Hughes and former vicar of HTB, Sandy Miller, with questions deftly fielded by Andy Emerton. What is the relationship between the church and the Kingdom of God, and do Christians have a monopoly on living out the Kingdom? How should the church work with secular organisations? The panel also discuss the place of the Trinity in the theology of the Alpha Course, and of singing in worship, before moving on to the stewardship of money, and the books of the Apocrypha. They also touch on the sensitive issue of prayer ministry in the face of terminal illness.

Graham, Mike and Jane consider the different approaches of the Catholic and Protestant Churches to personal transformation, looking at the place of sacraments and the doctrine of Purgatory. They also address questions of the reliability of the Bible and the revelation of God in scripture.

Does God get what he wants all the time? How do his will and our freedom fit into the course of history, and how does prayer affect situations? Graham, Mike and Jane also look at the authority of the church as an institution and the canonicity of scripture.

Graham, Mike and Jane turn their attention to the question of God’s plans for our lives. What are his promises to us, and to the Church as the people of God? And why does God sometimes seem to sit back and allow bad things to happen to us?

How might we live as Christians with loved ones in our families who don’t share our faith? Graham, Mike, and Jane are joined again by Rod Green in thinking about individual salvation and the salvation of households. What is the place of evangelism and prayer in the family? And what does it mean for our identity and self-esteem to know that we are made in the image of God?

Rod Green, a former student at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford and now a curate at Christ Church Spitalfields in London, is this week’s special guest. What is the nature of God’s action in our lives, and does he ever call us to do things that are bad for us? Are we predestined? And does God choose us or do we choose him?

Alister McGrath joins Graham, Mike and Jane to discuss issues raised by prominent secular atheists such as Richard Dawkins. What can we say about the character of God as portrayed in the Bible, and what is the relationship between the Old Testament and the New? What about the relationship between science and faith? Joined by students from St Paul’s Theological Centre, Alister also considers revelation in scripture, in Jesus, and in the natural world.